Information processing apparatus and information processing method

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus, which stores attribute data of a job executed by an image processing apparatus, and reference information of image data associated with the job in a storage device as a job log, saves image data corresponding to reference information in the storage device as cached data. Then, the apparatus acquires image data corresponding to reference information included in a job log from the cached data in the storage device, and outputs a job log appended with the acquired image data to an external system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus andinformation processing method, which save information of a job executedby an image processing apparatus as a job log in a storage device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, a job log audit system, which acquires pieces of jobinformation of jobs such as a copy job, FAX send/reception job, andprint job executed by an image processing apparatus such as a printer,scanner, digital MFP (Multi-Functional Peripheral), or the like, andsaves them as job logs in a database, is known. The job log audit systemsearches the job logs saved in the database to refer to contents ofpreviously executed jobs.

When the user executes, for example, a copy operation using an imageprocessing apparatus, the image processing apparatus generates andaccumulates, as a log, job information including a copy execution username and time, image data and text data of a copied document, and thelike. The image processing apparatus transmits the accumulated job logsto a server at a predetermined timing, and the server processes thereceived job logs and saves them in the database. An auditor conducts asearch based on keywords and images with respect to the job logs savedin the database using the job log audit system, thus referring to piecesof log information of jobs executed by the user using the imageprocessing apparatus. Thus, the auditor can audit whether or not theuser appropriately uses the image processing apparatus.

Since the job log audit system handles image data each having a largedata size, storage capacity poses a problem when the job logs areaccumulated in the digital MFP. By contrast, a technique for holding joblogs having identical images in the form of link logs which each haveonly reference information to that image in order to reduce data size isavailable (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-330939).

On the other hand, the aforementioned job logs are often backed upoutside the job log audit system or are often used for the purpose ofaudit in another system.

In the conventional job log audit system, job logs having identicalimages are accumulated in the database in the form of link logs. Forthis reason, when data are to be backed up or are to be used in anothersystem, reusability of data has room for improvement (for example, linkbreaking may have occurred).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an apparatus and method, which reducedata size of a job log and improve reusability of the saved job logdata.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided aninformation processing apparatus, which stores attribute data of a jobexecuted by an image processing apparatus, and reference information ofimage data associated with the job in a storage unit as a job log, theapparatus comprising: a saving unit configured to save image datacorresponding to the reference information in the storage unit as cacheddata; an acquisition unit configured to acquire image data correspondingto reference information included in the job log from the cached data inthe storage unit; and an output unit configured to output a job logappended with the image data acquired by the acquisition unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is providedan information processing method in an information processing apparatus,which stores attribute data of a job executed by an image processingapparatus, and reference information of image data associated with thejob in a storage unit as a job log, the method comprising: saving imagedata corresponding to the reference information in the storage unit ascached data; acquiring image data corresponding to reference informationincluded in the job log from the cached data in the storage unit; andoutputting a job log appended with the acquired image data to anexternal system.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a system including an image processing apparatus and aninformation processing apparatus, which stores a job log of a jobexecuted by the image processing apparatus in a storage unit, whereinthe job log, which is received from the image processing apparatus bythe information processing apparatus, includes a job log includingattribute data of a job and image data associated with the job, andanother job log including attribute data of a job and referenceinformation of image data associated with the job, and the informationprocessing apparatus comprises: a saving unit configured to save, inresponse to the reference information of the other job log, image dataincluded in the job log in the storage unit as cached data; anacquisition unit configured to acquire image data corresponding toreference information included in the other job log from the cached datain the storage unit; and an output unit configured to output another joblog appended with the image data acquired by the acquisition unit to anexternal system.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to theattached drawings).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the arrangement of a joblog audit system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware arrangementof a server;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the arrangement of adigital MFP 102;

FIG. 4 is a table showing an example of various jobs executed by thedigital MFP 102;

FIG. 5 shows the data configuration of a job log of an input job;

FIG. 6 shows the data configuration of a job log of an output job;

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing the arrangement offunctional components of a data processing server 103;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of a cache processor 702;

FIG. 9 is a table showing an example of job definitions of the cacheprocessor 702;

FIG. 10 is a table showing an example of content data saved in a cache706;

FIG. 11 shows the data configuration of a job log saved in a file server104;

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing the arrangement offunctional components of the data processing server 103; and

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram showing the arrangement offunctional components of the file server 104.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described indetail hereinafter with reference to the drawings. These embodimentswill exemplify a digital MFP having a plurality of functions such as acopy function, scan function, print function, and FAX function as animage processing apparatus.

First Embodiment

An example of the arrangement of a job log audit system as a systemwhich collects, for example, job logs for the purpose of audit of joblogs according to the first embodiment will be described below using theblock diagram shown in FIG. 1. The job log audit system includes variousservers such as a data processing server 103, file server 104, andsearch server 105, and a digital MFP 102, which are connected to eachother via a network 101. The network 101 includes a LAN which is managedin an office or a WAN which is extensively managed over the Internet.Note that each of the various servers may include an informationprocessing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC).

The digital MFP 102 has various job execution functions such as scan,print, copy, e-mail, and FAX job execution functions. The digital MFP102 has a storage area for saving document data in itself, and hasfunctions of printing saved document data, sending the document data asan e-mail message, and sending the document data as FAX data. In thisembodiment, that storage area will be referred to as a “user box”hereinafter. The digital MFP 102 has a function of recording job logs inassociation with various jobs executed on itself, and of transmittingthe job logs to the data processing server 103. Note that a job logincludes job execution user information, job execution date and timeinformation, job attribute data such as an executed job type, and jobcontent data such as image data and text data processed by a job.

The data processing server 103 applies data conversion processing to thejob logs received from the digital MFP 102, and saves the processed joblogs in the file server 104. Note that the data conversion processing isprocessing for shaping the contents of job attribute data included in ajob log, applying OCR processing to image data of job content data toextract text data, and converting the format and size of the image data.The data processing server 103 has a function of temporarily holdingcontent data as cached data, and uses the cached content data uponsaving a job log in the file server 104.

The file server 104 saves the job log processed by the data processingserver 103. The file server 104 needs only be a storage device which cansave job logs, and for example, a relational database may be used.

The search server 105 is an application which searches job logs saved inthe file server 104 using predetermined conditions, and presents thesearch result to the user. The user audits job logs saved in the fileserver 104 using the search server 105. Note that the present inventionis applicable to any types of search servers 105 as long as they areapplications which refer to job logs saved in the file server 104. Also,the search server 105 may be an application server of an external systemwhich is not included in the job log audit system. Furthermore, thesearch server 105 may be a data mining system which analyzes largequantities of job logs and uses them in decision making. Moreover, thesearch server 105 may be a file management system which fetches job logssaved in the file server 104 and manages job logs based on strictsecurity policies. In addition, the search server 105 may be a systemwhich periodically backs up files in the file server 104.

FIG. 1 includes one data processing server 103, one file server 104, andone search server 105. Alternatively, a plurality of components of eachtype may be included for the sake of redundancy and performanceimprovement. A certain component and another component may be arrangedin a single server. For example, the data processing server 103 and fileserver 104 may be arranged on a single server.

An example of the hardware arrangement of a server in the job log auditsystem will be described below using the block diagram shown in FIG. 2.Referring to FIG. 2, a CPU 201 executes various kinds of data processingassociated with acquisition of job logs and arithmetic processingrequired for a search, and controls respective components connected to abus 208. A ROM 202 is a read only memory which stores a basic controlprogram and control data. A RAM 203 is a random access memory used forvarious kinds of arithmetic processing of the CPU 201 and to temporarilystore data. An external storage device 204 stores a system program suchas an OS (Operating System) of the information processing and a programof the job log audit system, and is used as a temporary storage areaduring data processing. The external storage device 204 has a lower datainput/output speed than the RAM 203, but it can hold large-capacitydata. The external storage device 204 mainly includes a magnetic storagedevice (HDD), but it may be a device which loads external media such asa CD, DVD, and memory card, and which reads and records data.

An input device 205 is used to input characters and data to theinformation processing apparatus, and corresponds to various keyboardsand mouses. A display device 206 is used to display a processing resultof the information processing apparatus, and corresponds to a CRT orliquid crystal monitor. A communication device 207 establishesconnection to the LAN to make data communications based on TCP/IP, andis used to communicate with other information processing apparatuses.

An example of the arrangement of the digital MFP 102 in the job logaudit system will be described below using the block diagram shown inFIG. 3. A controller unit 301 is connected to a scanner unit 307 as animage input device, a printer unit 308 as an image output device, and anoperation unit 309 as a digital MFP operation device. On the other hand,the controller unit 301 is connected to the network 101 via a networkunit 306.

In the controller unit 301, a CPU 302 is a processor which controls theoverall system. A ROM 303 stores a boot program required to launch thesystem and the like. A RAM 304 is a system work memory required for theCPU 302 to operate, and is also a buffer memory used to temporarilystore input image data. A hard disk drive (HDD) 305 stores systemsoftware and job logs. A partial area of the HDD 305 is used as a userbox area used to store document data. The network unit 306 establishesconnection to the network 101, and exchanges document data, job logs,information related to the digital MFP, and the like with other deviceson the network. The aforementioned units are arranged on the system bus310.

The operation unit 309 outputs information related to the digital MFP102 and that which allows the user to operate the digital MFP 102 on ascreen. The operation unit 309 assumes a role of accepting an input froman operator, and transferring that information to the controller unit301.

An example of various jobs executed by the digital MFP 102 will bedescribed below using FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, jobs are managed usinga job class indicating an input or output job, and an item indicatingthe presence/absence of content data in a job log. In this case, aninput job is a job, document data of which is externally input uponexecution of the job by the digital MFP 102.

For example, a copy job is an input job which instructs to processdocument data of an original document scanned by the scanner unit 307and to print the processed data by the printer unit 308. A scan-to-BOXjob is an input job which instructs to store document data of anoriginal document scanned by the scanner unit 307 in the user box areain the HDD 305. When the digital MFP 102 executes an input job, itrecords job attribute data and job content data as a job log. To inputdocument data, the digital MFP 102 assigns a content identifier (contentID) required to uniquely identify job content data in itself.

An output job instructs to process document data which is processed asan input job and is held in the digital MFP 102. For example, a BOXprint job instructs the printer unit 308 to print document data storedin the user box area in the HDD 305. In this case, document data used inan output job is the same as that which was previously processed by anarbitrary input job. For this reason, an output job and correspondinginput job have the same content ID included in job logs.

The data configuration of a job log generated by the digital MFP 102upon execution of an input job will be described below using FIG. 5. Asa job log of an input job, job attribute data and content data aregenerated. The job attribute data includes information such as a job logID, job type, content ID, and job execution user name. The content dataincludes a content ID and image data.

The job log ID is an identifier used to uniquely identify a job log. Thecontent ID is an identifier used to uniquely identify content data. Incase of jobs which handle the same document data, their job logs includethe same content ID.

The data configuration of a job log generated by the digital MFP 102upon execution of an output job will be described below using FIG. 6. Asa job log of an output job, only job attribute data is generated, and nocontent data is generated. Document data used in an output job is thesame as that used in a previously processed input job, and the contentsof document data used in the output job can be confirmed with referenceto a job log of the input job which includes the same content ID. In theexample shown in FIG. 6, a content ID is “C000a”, which is the same asthat in the job log of the input job shown in FIG. 5. Hence, whencontent data related to the job log shown in FIG. 6 is to be referredto, the content data of the job log shown in FIG. 5 has to be referredto. Reference is made using reference information which is representedhere by the content ID as an example.

That is, the job log of the output data shown in FIG. 6 does not haveany content data, but it has reference information (content ID) tocontent data included in the job log of the input job shown in FIG. 5. Ajob log which has reference information to content data of another joglog in this way will be referred to as a link log hereinafter.

The schematic arrangement of functional components required to controlthe information processing apparatus to serve as the data processingserver 103 will be described below using FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7,functional components required to implement processing of a job loginclude a job log reception unit 701, cache processor 702, dataprocessor 703, and job log output unit 704. Also, a functionalcomponent, which manages a cache, includes a cache deletion unit 705.The aforementioned functional components are software modules which runon the data processing server 103.

The job log reception unit 701 receives a job log transmitted from thedigital MFP 102.

The cache processor 702 saves content data in a cache 706 and acquirescontent data from the cache 706 based on the contents of the job logreceived by the job log reception unit 701. Upon saving content data inthe cache, a cache use count and valid period are set based on thecontents of the job log. The cache valid period can be set in advance byan administrator of the job log audit system. Upon acquiring contentdata from the cache, deletion processing is executed based on the setcache use count.

The data processor 703 applies data processing to a job log. The dataprocessing corresponds to resolution conversion processing, datacompression processing, data format conversion processing, and the like.

The job log output unit 704 outputs a job log to the file server 104 asan external system after processing (to be described later; FIG. 8) bythe cache processor 702. A job log to be output undergoes the dataprocessing by the data processor 703. As for an output timing, a job logmay be output in response to a user's export instruction or according toa pre-set schedule.

The cache deletion unit 705 deletes content data which is saved in thecache 706 and the valid period of which has expired. An execution timingof the deletion processing by the cache deletion unit 705 can be set inadvance by the administrator of the job log audit system. The deletionprocessing is executed every day at, for example, 12 midnight.

The operation of the cache processor 702 will be described below usingthe flowchart shown in FIG. 8.

The cache processor 702 determines in step S801 whether or not a jobtype of a job log to be processed is an “input job”. As a result ofdetermination, if the job type is an “input job”, the process advancesto step S802, and the cache processor 702 determines whether or not thejob type requires an output job. In this case, if the job type does notrequire any output job, the cache processor 702 skips cache savingprocessing, and ends this processing.

If it is determined in step S802 above that the job type requires anoutput job, the process advances to step S803, and the cache processor702 determines whether or not the job type requires a plurality of timesof an output job. If the determination result is YES, the processadvances to step S804, and since the job type requires a plurality oftimes of an output job, the cache processor 702 sets a predeterminedvalid period, and then saves content data in the cache. On the otherhand, if the determination result is NO in step S803, the processadvances to step S805, and since the job type requires an output jobonly once, the cache processor 702 sets “1” in a cache use count, andsaves content data in the cache. If the determination result is YES instep S801, the job log output unit 704 outputs the job log includingboth the job attribute data and the content data to the file server.

If it is determined in step S801 above that the job type is “outputjob”, the process advances to step S806, and the cache processor 702executes cache acquisition processing and cache deletion processing inprocesses up to step S810. In step S806, the cache processor 702acquires content data from the cache using a content ID as a key. Thecache processor 702 determines in step S807 whether or not the contentdata of that content ID can be acquired from the cache. If the contentdata of that content ID cannot be acquired from the cache, the cacheprocessor 702 ends the cache processing. If content data acquisition hasfailed, the job log output unit 704 outputs the job log without anycontent data to the file server.

If content data acquisition has succeeded in step S807 above, theprocess advances to step S808, and the cache processor 702 copies theacquired content data as that of the job log to be processed. With thisprocessing, the job log which is a link log is output by the job logoutput unit 704 to the file server while being appended with the contentdata.

The cache processor 702 determines in step S809 whether or not the cacheuse count of that content ID is “1”. If the cache use count is “1”, theprocess advances to step S810, and the cache processor 702 deletes thecontent data of that content ID from the cache.

On the other hand, if the cache use count of that content ID is not “1”,the process advances to step S811, and the cache processor 702determines whether or not a valid period was set, and has expired. Ifthe valid period has not expired yet, the cache processor 702 ends thecache processing without deleting the cache data from the cache.However, if the valid period has expired, the cache processor 702deletes the content data of that content ID from the cache.

An example of job definitions of the cache processor 702 will bedescribed below using FIG. 9. Note that the job definitions are referredto by the cache processor 702 in the cache processing, and define, forall job types, a class indicating an input or output job, and a possibleoutput job requirement count in case of an input job. Also, these jobdefinitions are prescribed, and are not freely changed by a systemadministrator.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, “copy”, “scan-to-BOX”, and “FAXreception” are defined as input jobs, and “FAX send” and “BOX print” aredefined as output jobs.

As for “copy” of the input jobs, since document data to be copied is notsaved in the digital MFP 102, there is no possibility of generation ofan output job using that document data later. For this reason, a linklog generation count is “0”, and the cache processor 702 does not createany cache data. As for “scan-to-BOX”, scanned document data is saved inthe user box area of the digital MFP 102, and the saved data may beprinted or sent as FAX data later. For this reason, a plurality of linklogs may be generated, and the cache processor 702 sets a predeterminedvalid period and creates cache data.

On the other hand, in case of an output job, a link log is nevergenerated later. Since a job log itself of an output job does notinclude any content data, the cache processor 702 acquires content datafrom the cache using a content ID as a key.

An example of content data saved in the cache 706 will be describedbelow using FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, the cache processor 702 sets a usecount and valid period for each of the content data saved in the cache.For example, when a link log including a content ID=C0000a is generated,the cache processor 702 acquires content data having the contentID=C0000a from the cache. In this case, since the cache use count of thecontent data having the content ID=C0000a is “1”, the cache processor702 deletes that content data from the cache simultaneously withacquisition of the content data.

On the other hand, a cache use count of content data having a contentID=C0000c is “plural”, and a valid period thereof is “Dec. 24, 2010”.When a link log including a content ID=C0000c is generated before Dec.24, 2010, the cache processor 702 acquires image data and text datahaving the content ID=C0000c from the cache, but it does not delete themfrom the cache at that time. These cache data are deleted when the cachedeletion unit 705 executes deletion processing at a predetermined timingafter Dec. 24, 2010.

The data configuration of the job log when the job log shown in FIG. 6is saved in the file server 104 will be described below using FIG. 11.Note that FIGS. 6 and 11 are substantially the same except that the joglog includes content data.

More specifically, the job type of the job log shown in FIG. 11 is “BOXprint”, and is a link log. Hence, the job log at the creation timing bythe digital MFP 102 does not include any content data, as shown in FIG.6. By contrast, in FIG. 11, the job log which is processed by the dataprocessing server 103 and is saved in the file server 104 has contentdata since the cache processor 702 has acquired that content data fromthe cache 706.

In FIG. 11, the job log has text data compared to FIG. 5. This text datais generated since the data processor 703 in the data processing server103 executes OCR processing to the image data.

Second Embodiment

The second embodiment according to the present invention will bedescribed in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the firstembodiment, the data processing server 103 executes the cache processingand cache deletion processing. However, in the second embodiment, thefile server 104 executes cache processing and cache deletion processing.Note that other arrangements are the same as those in the firstembodiment. Hence, the same reference numerals denote the samecomponents as in the first embodiment, and a description thereof willnot be repeated. Only differences from the first embodiment will bedescribed below.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing the arrangement offunctional components of the data processing server 103. The samereference numerals denote the same components as in FIG. 7, and adescription thereof will not be repeated. As shown in FIG. 12, in thesecond embodiment, the data processing server 103 does not include anycache 706. For this reason, the data processing server 103 applies dataprocessing to a job log received from the digital MFP 102, and transmitsthe processed log to the file server 104.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram showing the arrangement offunctional components of the file server 104. The same referencenumerals denote the same components as in FIG. 7, and a descriptionthereof will not be repeated. As shown in FIG. 13, in the secondembodiment, the cache 706 is processed on the file server in place ofthe data processing server 103.

A job log reception unit 1301 receives a job log from the dataprocessing server 103. A job log output unit 1302 outputs a job log to afile system 1303 built on the external storage device 204 on the fileserver 104 to save the log in the file system 103. Note that the cacheprocessor 702 executes the cache processing in the same manner as in theflowchart shown in FIG. 8.

According to the second embodiment, since the file server 104 executesthe cache processing in place of the data processing server 103, thecache can be uniformly managed even in the system arrangement whichdistributes a load to a plurality of data processing servers 103. Thus,even in the system arrangement which distributes a load to the pluralityof data processing servers, audit processing efficiency and datareusability of accumulated job logs can be efficiently improved.

Other Embodiments

Aspects of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of asystem or apparatus (or devices such as a CPU or MPU) that reads out andexecutes a program recorded on a memory device to perform the functionsof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method, the steps ofwhich are performed by a computer of a system or apparatus by, forexample, reading out and executing a program recorded on a memory deviceto perform the functions of the above-described embodiment(s). For thispurpose, the program is provided to the computer for example via anetwork or from a recording medium of various types serving as thememory device (for example, computer-readable medium).

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2011-173279, filed Aug. 8, 2011, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus, whichprocesses job logs corresponding to jobs executed by an image processingapparatus, said information processing apparatus comprising: a receptionunit configured to receive a job log corresponding to a job executed bythe image processing apparatus; a saving unit configured to save, whenattribute data of a first job log received by the reception unitindicates an input job, image data included in the first job log ascached data corresponding to reference information of image dataassociated with the job; an output unit configured to output a job logreceived by the reception unit to an external system; and an acquisitionunit configured to acquire, when attribute data of a second job logreceived by the reception unit does not indicate the input job butindicates an output job, image data corresponding to referenceinformation included in the second job log from the cached data, whereinthe saving unit is configured to save the image data included in thefirst job log as the cached data before the first job log is output tothe external system by the output unit, wherein the output unit isconfigured to output the second job log, the image data acquired by theacquisition unit being appended with the second job log, and whereinsaid input job is a job by which the image processing apparatus acquiresdata for one or more subsequent output jobs.
 2. The apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein when the saving unit saves the image data as thecached data, the saving unit is configured to set a use count of thecached data.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the savingunit is configured to refer to the attribute data of the job logreceived by the reception unit, and when the job log is a log of aninput job having a corresponding plurality of output jobs, and whensaving the image data as the cached data, the saving unit is configuredto set “plural” as the use count of the cached data.
 4. The apparatusaccording to claim 2, further comprising a deletion unit configured todelete the saved cached data based on the setting of the use count. 5.An information processing method in an information processing apparatus,which processes job logs corresponding to jobs executed by an imageprocessing apparatus, the method comprising: receiving a job logcorresponding to a job executed by the image processing apparatus;saving, when attribute data of a first job log received in the receivingstep indicates an input job, image data included in the first job log ascached data corresponding to reference information of image dataassociated with the job; outputting a job log received in the receivingstep to an external system; and acquiring, when attribute data of asecond job log received in the receiving step does not indicate theinput job but indicates an output job, image data corresponding toreference information included in the second job log from the cacheddata, wherein the saving step saves image data included in the first joblog as the cached data before the first job log is output to theexternal system by the outputting step, wherein the outputting stepoutputs the second job log, the image data acquired by the acquiringstep being appended with the with the second job log, and wherein saidinput job is a job by which the image processing apparatus acquires datafor one or more subsequent output jobs.
 6. A system including an imageprocessing apparatus and an information processing apparatus whichprocesses job logs corresponding to jobs executed by the imageprocessing apparatus, wherein the information processing apparatuscomprises: a reception unit configured to receive a job logcorresponding to a job executed by the image processing apparatus; asaving unit configured to save, when attribute data of a first job logreceived by the reception unit indicates an input job, image dataincluded in the first job log as cached data corresponding to referenceinformation of image data associated with the job; an output unitconfigured to output a job log received by the reception unit to anexternal system; and an acquisition unit configured to acquire, whenattribute data of a second job log received by the reception unit doesnot indicate the input job but indicates an output job, image datacorresponding to reference information included in the second job logfrom the cached data, wherein the saving unit is configured to saveimage data included in the first job log as the cached data before thefirst job log is output to the external system by the output unit,wherein the output unit is configured to output the second job log, theimage data acquired by the acquisition unit being appended with thesecond job log, and wherein said input job is a job by which the imageprocessing apparatus acquires data for one or more subsequent outputjobs.
 7. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which isrecorded code of a program for controlling a computer to execute aninformation processing method of claim
 5. 8. The apparatus according toclaim 3, wherein, when the job log is a log of an input job having asingle corresponding output job, and when saving the image data as thecached data, the saving unit is configured to set “1” as the use countof the cached data.